Free Lost or Stolen Cell Phone Reimbursement

[outthink]

AT&T/Citibank Universal MasterCard offers free Lost or Stolen Cell Phone Reimbursement. There is a $50 deductible and a $100 limit per occurrence.

If you pay for the phone with your their MasterCard, they will double the Sprint warranty at no charge.

It also covers stolen or damaged cell phones w/ no deductible for the first 90 days.

All of this at no charge. Other charge cards may have the same kind of free insurance if you look at the terms and conditions for your charge card.

I had the coverage but I didn't pay much attention to it until my son broke the inside screen on his Samsung A840 two weeks after he got :frustrate . Sprint charged $60 to replace the screen but the insurance will cover it :tu: .

[dotbowels]

Mastercard Gold Also Doubles If You Used To Pay for your phone. Doubles Warranty from 1 yr to 2 yrs

[Dan]

visa and mastercard offer some "buyer protection" help for card members. I believe mastercard requires it on platmium and higher cards and visa requires it on "visa signature" but your bank MAY cover items on "classic" cards also.

The coverage generally applies to damaged and stolen items and some have a price protection coverage also incase you find the item went down in price and the retailer refuses to make an adjustment. Another "perk" of using your CC to make a payment for an item!

The only limitations I have seen are financial (items up to $250 are covered fully generally) and geographic (the store is supposed to be within say 100 miles of your billing address) but most companies are reasonable in the application of the rules :)

[cazper]

I'm glad that some people have had a good experience with the Master Card program. I have a Citbank Driver's Edge Platinum Card and tried to use this coverage with some different results. The claims people wanted me to file a claim with my homeowner's insurance company first and they would place the difference. However, my homeowners policy did not cover cell phone damage so I'm at an impasse on what to do next. The other problem I have is that I purchased the phone through telesales and I did not get a receipt or confirmation. Contacted telesales and they don't have any way to generate a copy.

I have used American Express' program on several occassions and it is a lot easier and simple. If you don't have a receipt, they verify the purchase via your statement. Pretty painless compared to what I'm being asked for with the Master Card program.:frustrate

[Dan]

I'm glad that some people have had a good experience with the Master Card program. I have a Citbank Driver's Edge Platinum Card and tried to use this coverage with some different results. The claims people wanted me to file a claim with my homeowner's insurance company first and they would place the difference. However, my homeowners policy did not cover cell phone damage so I'm at an impasse on what to do next. The other problem I have is that I purchased the phone through telesales and I did not get a receipt or confirmation. Contacted telesales and they don't have any way to generate a copy.

I have used American Express' program on several occassions and it is a lot easier and simple. If you don't have a receipt, they verify the purchase via your statement. Pretty painless compared to what I'm being asked for with the Master Card program.:frustrate


1) simply tell them that your home-owners policy doesnt cover that type of claim or that the deductable will not cover it.

2) you got a packing slip when you got your phone from telesales, correct? If not I believe they charge the phone to your sprint bill and take the payment based on that so your bill may also function as your reciept.

Its too bad they have to play games :(

[JK360Guy]

When you buy from telesales, it comes with a printed receipt. :)

[cazper]

1) simply tell them that your home-owners policy doesnt cover that type of claim or that the deductable will not cover it.

2) you got a packing slip when you got your phone from telesales, correct? If not I believe they charge the phone to your sprint bill and take the payment based on that so your bill may also function as your reciept.

Its too bad they have to play games :(

Thanks dnd411! That was going to be my angle on this.

When you buy from telesales, it comes with a printed receipt. :)

Actuallty JK360Guy, you get a packing slip that only shows shipping and product information. No price or amount paid info that the MasterCard insurance wants. Thanks for your help!

[Dan]

Thanks dnd411! That was going to be my angle on this.



Actuallty JK360Guy, you get a packing slip that only shows shipping and product information. No price or amount paid info that the MasterCard insurance wants. Thanks for your help!


Remember that you got the phone (most likely) at a deep discount and the replacement cost may be much higher if not repairable. The product protection is for replacement of the item, not for refund of the money spent on it!

[olddog]

I have spoke to the csr at ATT Universal. She said that as reported above, there is a $50 deductible on what you purchase with an up to $100 reimbursement. I asked, what if the company (Sprint) is giving you a $75 or $150 towards your purchase, she said, that would be taken off what you buy. Example: $200 phone, Sprint gives you $75 towards purchase(you have had your phone one year), $50 deductible, $75 reimbursement from ATT. Therefore you pay $50 towards your phone. It actually works out a bit better to get a $225 phone, thereby getting the full $100 reimbursment, if Sprint is giving you $75 towards the phone. If Sprint is giving you $150 towards the phone, you can get a $300 phone for $50, which isn't too bad. This only works for phones lost or stolen of course. Now I can drop lockline without feeling too worried. Any feedback would be appreciated.

[sprintkillA]

hmmm...does AMEX Gold have this?

[cazper]

Yes. It is available with most, if not all Amex cards. Lost, stolen, or damaged phones for the first 90 days. They will pay for the purchase amount including taxes. After that, only the warranty applies. However, they extend Sprint's warranty to two years (through their program though).

I had a Dell Axim (#) that had the charging port break 10 days before the two year purchase anniversary and they refunded my full purchase price after filing the claim and returning the device. I used the money towards the purchase of a PPC 6700.

Three years earlier, my wife busted up a three week old Samsung (#) A500. Called up and filed a claim. Because the amount was just over $200, they just credited the account and I didn't have to return the busted phone (#).

Great benefit!:music: :headbang2 :music: